Adapting+the+Web

Explain ways the web needs to be adapted for people with accessibilty issues. What do we need to know as we create websites to make them accessible for all?

 = AN INTRODUCTION -= =ADAPTING THE WEB FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES=

Web adaptation for people with disabilities is not something new, although it may sound new to many of us. To help you learn more about web adaptation and the technology-based problems people with disabilities may encounter, we wanted to make this site as user-friendly as possible. Rather than regurgitating all of the information we found by researching this topic, we decided to sift through it all and provide you with the direct links to the best articles and videos, so you can see them first hand. We tried to categorize the articles so that you can easily find what you are looking for. There are ways that the web is being adapted or fixed so people with disabilities can use it. Watch this video to gain a basic understanding of the problems that are occuring (or can occur if websites are not adapted).

media type="youtube" key="wQT9yVeu_js" height="344" width="425"

[|How People with Disabilities Use the Web]This is an AWESOME document. This article doesn't just address major disabilities, it addresses minor problems that people might have such as colorblindness and how they might also have difficulty using the web.

=SOLUTIONS=
 * At least 10% of the population in most countries has disabilities (fifty million Americans)
 * In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. [|Section 508 info]
 * Examples of design requirements (WWW Consortium) for people with different kinds of disabilities include:
 * Visual:
 * described graphics or video;
 * well marked-up tables or frames;
 * keyboard support, screen reader compatibility;
 * Hearing:
 * captioning for audio, supplemental illustration;
 * Physical, Speech
 * keyboard or single-switch support;
 * alternatives for speech input on voice portals;
 * Cognitive, Neurological:
 * consistent navigation, appropriate language level;
 * illustration; no flickering or strobing designs

=WHAT CAN YOU DO?= The SEO Web Designers home page reports that 90% of those who visit a website use a mouse to navigate and a full-color computer screen to view information; the other 10% cannot use these tools that so many take for granted. As more and more educators are designing classroom websites and more and more people depend on the internet as a means of communication and business, it is critical that the sites are disability friendly. In the classroom, teachers need to make their classroom websites so all students can benefit. Furthermore, our students need to recognize the importance of e-accessibility in terms of web design and business strategies and, therefore, educators need to have the knowledge to teach students how to create appropriate sites. This way, our future entrepreneurs, teachers, web designers, etc. will be ready to increase productivity, promote differentiation, and increase business. The links provided below will help you set up an accessible site. As we all have different comfort levels with website design, these links are broken into two sections so you can immediately make your website more disability friendly, no matter your skill level.

[|**Building Accessible Websites**]**-** A book by Joe Clark - This outstanding source is available online in its entirety and offers a wealth of information and step-by-step instructions for setting up an accessible website, including specific html codes**.**
 * Advanced **

[|**Info on designing web sites for people with disabilties**] This site discusses some of the content of a web site for people with disabilities. Making sure the background and text have good contrast or larger text for visually impared. It gives guidelines for decibal levels for any audio content, etc.

[|**Design a site that is disability friendly**]**-** This site offers some very simple steps to getting your website to be more disability friendly.
 * Basic **

[|**Quick Tips to Make Accessible Websites**] This page lists 10 basic ways to make a website that is accessible. You can also view a more detailed version of these guildelines at [|**http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/**]**.**

[|**Easy Read Guide**]This is a document put together by the Disability Rights Commission. It is a guide on how to make websites easy for everyone to use.

**Miscellaneous** [|Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites] This is another guide on how to make websites accessible to everyone. However, this document gives you more detail about the why websites need to be accessible. It even includes more information about the Disability Discrimation Act for Great Britain, similar to our American's with Disabilities Act.